News
| July 17, 2017

CSM Bakery Solutions Announces Agreement For Sale Of Its BakeMark Business To Pamplona Capital Management

New York and Atlanta and London /PRNewswire/ - CSM Bakery Solutions, a global leader in bakery ingredients, products and services, today announced it had reached an agreement for the sale of its BakeMark business to Pamplona Capital Management.

The agreed upon sale is an important step in advancing CSM's strategy to focus on its core business in Europe and North America, according to CSM's President and CEO Marianne Kirkegaard.

"We have always had great appreciation for the value of the BakeMark business but this sale will help us support our goal of further strengthening our core business in Europe and North America by focusing on our value added bakery products and ingredients portfolio," she said. "Under Pamplona's ownership, BakeMark can further strengthen its strong position and reputation as the industry's supply and distribution market leader in North America."

Based in Pico Rivera, California, BakeMark provides distribution services through a network of 25 distribution centers and three manufacturing facilities across the United States and Canada. BakeMark offers a diversified line of products, ingredients and supplies to the food industry under brands that include Westco, Trigal Dorado and BakeSense.

William Pruellage, a Partner at Pamplona, expressed his confidence in BakeMark's future.

"BakeMark is a market-leading specialty distribution platform serving as the premier bakery ingredient supplier in North America," he said. "We believe BakeMark is well positioned to succeed as a stand-alone entity and capitalize on new growth opportunities. We look forward to supporting Jim Parker, the President and CEO of BakeMark, and the rest of the Company's exceptional management team to build on its long history of providing trusted and valuable service to the food industry."

Parker, commenting on the sale, expressed similar optimism.

"We are excited to be partnering with Pamplona for the next stage of BakeMark's growth," he said. "As an independent company with the support of Pamplona, BakeMark is ideally positioned to continue providing customers with quality products and full-service distribution capabilities."

Terms of the deal, which was facilitated by Harris Williams & Co., an M&A advisory firm, were not disclosed. Sullivan & Cromwell LLP provided legal counsel to CSM.

The BakeMark investment is being made from Pamplona's fifth private equity fund, Pamplona Capital Partners V, L.P., a $3.4 billion investment vehicle raised in 2017. Barclays is serving as Pamplona's financial advisor. Pamplona received legal advice from Goodwin Procter LLP. Committed debt financing for the transaction has been provided by the Senior Direct Lending Program, a joint venture between Ares Capital Corporation and Varagon Capital Partners, and Northwestern Mutual Capital.

About CSM Bakery Solutions
CSM Bakery Solutions is a global leader in bakery ingredients, products and services for retail and food service markets as well as artisan and industrial bakeries. CSM serves more than 45,000 customers in 100-plus countries and offers a broad portfolio of well-recognized brands providing specialized ingredients (dry mixes, fillings, icings, glazes, mélange, toppings, batter, frozen dough and more) and finished products (cakes, donuts, muffins, brownies, cookies, specialty bread, viennoiserie and more). CSM's mosaic of heritage bakery brands includes some of the industry's most trusted names: Brill, Henry & Henry, MeisterMarken, Multifoods, and Waldkorn, to name but a few.

About Pamplona Capital Management
Pamplona Capital Management is a New York, Boston and London-based specialist investment manager established in 2005 that provides an alternative investment platform across private equity, fund of hedge funds, and single-manager hedge fund investments. Pamplona manages $15 billion in assets across a number of funds for a variety of clients including public pension funds, international wealth managers, multinational corporations, family offices, and funds of hedge funds. Pamplona invests long-term capital across the capital structure of its portfolio companies in both public and private market situations. Please see www.pamplonafunds.com for further information.

About BakeMark
With over 100 years of service to the baking industry, BakeMark is recognized as an industry leader and trusted partner for quality bakery ingredients, products, supplies and service. As a manufacturer and distributor with 25 branches conveniently-located across the U.S. and Canada, BakeMark delivers a complete line of ingredients and supplies, ranging from bakery mixes, fillings & icings, glazes, donut sugar and frozen varieties to flour, sugar, shortening, dairy & egg, packaging & supplies and gourmet chocolate through its exclusive brands: Westco, Trigal Dorado, BakeSense, BakeQwik and C'est Vivant.